Vietnam calls for an end to actions that complicate the situation in the East Sea

On February 15, the United Nations Security Council held an open debate on the topic: "Respect for the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter - a key factor in maintaining international peace and security."

The meeting was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, President of the Security Council for February. Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations, attended and spoke at the conference.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga (right) attends the opening session of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo: Le Duong/VNA)

In his opening speech, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized that, in addition to the achievements, the world still faces many challenges such as escalating civil wars in Syria and Yemen, widespread violent extremism, and the disregard of basic values ​​of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

The Secretary-General stressed the role of the United Nations in supporting capacity building to help countries identify and manage conflicts and crises, through preventive measures such as early detection and warning.

He also affirmed that the United Nations' operating principles are based on cooperation, transparency and respect for national sovereignty in accordance with the spirit of the United Nations Charter.

Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations, affirmed the important significance of the United Nations Charter in maintaining international peace and security, promoting development and protecting human rights; emphasized the value of the Charter's basic principles in the face of current traditional and non-traditional security challenges; called on the United Nations, especially its main organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to take the lead in promoting the Charter's basic principles on the basis of respecting the values ​​and unique identities of each country in terms of history, culture, politics, and socio-economy.

The Ambassador also said that the United Nations needs to promote its role in supporting peaceful resolution of disputes and preventing conflicts; the Security Council needs to prioritize the use of peaceful measures according to Article 33 of the Charter, strengthen relations with regional and sub-regional organizations, perform well the role of mediation, mobilize resources and improve capacity for peacekeeping activities.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga emphasized the role of ASEAN solidarity in ensuring security and stability in the region, especially in the face of complicated developments in the East Sea with unilateral actions to illegally build and expand islands and reefs, affecting the environment and causing serious harm to peace, security and stability in the region.

The Ambassador requested relevant parties to stop actions that change the status quo, militarize or complicate the situation in the East Sea; called for the settlement of disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the United Nations Charter and fundamental principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, respect for freedom of navigation and aviation in the region, commit to seriously and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reaching a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

At the meeting, all countries affirmed the important role of the basic principles and purposes of the Charter as a key factor in building and maintaining an international collective security architecture; promoting core values ​​such as respect for independence and sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use or threat of use of force and the important role of the United Nations in supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes and resolving root issues to prevent conflicts, especially in the context of regional and world security and peace being threatened by disputes over sovereignty and territorial integrity, religious and ethnic conflicts, disarmament and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and extreme violence leading to waves of migration, epidemics caused by Ebola, Zika, and climate change./.

According to Vietnam+